You're Fading
by DAIrinchan
Summary: AU. Rukia comes back from work one night to find a stranger in her home.


**Disclaimer:** Sorry to surprise you like this, but i don't actually own _Bleach_.

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Rukia unlocked the door. "I'm home," she called out, more out of habit than anything else, as she stopped to take off her shoes. She'd long since given up on her brother answering her.

"Welcome home," a voice said from the living room, stopping her cold on one foot. It was a male voice, but it wasn't her brother's. She didn't recognize this voice at all.

"Hello?" she said as she came around to the doorway.

There was a strange man sitting on the couch next to her brother. Byakuya seemed strangely happy. He wasn't laughing or anything, but his mouth curved in a smile.

 _Who is this?_ Rukia wondered. _And what has he done to my brother?_ She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him show emotion.

"Rukia," Byakuya said, his greeting still as distant as usual, even if his expression didn't quite match. "You remember Tsukishima, of course."

No. No, she didn't. Who was he? Probably someone important. Byakuya would kill her if he found out she had forgotten.

"Rukia," Tsukishima inclined his head to her. "How nice to see you again. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Of – of course," Rukia said. "It's been ages." Her mind raced. Someone who could make Byakuya smile? How could she possibly forget a person like that?

No, that couldn't be it. Rukia had a pretty good memory, and she was sure she'd never seen this man before.

"So what have you been up to?" she asked, sitting in the armchair across from them. Maybe she could get some kind of clue from small talk.

"Oh, this and that," he replied, purposely vague. "You know how it is."

He knew she didn't know him. Whatever this was, he seemed to know that. He was aware she was fishing for information, and it looked as though he wasn't planning to let anything slip.

Damn it, why did this have to happen? She had had a hard day at work and just wanted to come home and curl up with a stuffed bunny. Instead, she had to deal with this man, whoever he was, coming into her home and acting like he belonged. She sank back into her chair. It wasn't good posture, but she was tired and confused.

"And you?" Tsukishima asked in return. "How have you been?"

"I'm keeping busy." Rukia forced a laugh. "You know, work." Did that turn out all right? She knew her laugh sounded stilted. But then, this Tsukishima surely knew she was stuck. Had Byakuya noticed? That was the real question.

She sneaked a look at him. He wasn't contributing much to the conversation, but then, he never did. He generally stayed quiet, keeping his thoughts to himself, but when he was with someone he cared about, it was as if he were enjoying just being in their company. He was like that now. Rukia couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him like this.

"Anyway," she said, "i shouldn't interrupt you. What were you talking about before i got home?" She directed the question at her brother. Even if Tsukishima wouldn't let anything slip, maybe she could find something out indirectly.

Byakuya began to explain something about a book the two of them had both read. Rukia stifled a groan. Of course he had been able to target her brother's interests. She had to get out of here.

Her eyes fell on the table, and on the two empty mugs sitting there. Tea. She didn't know how they had gotten it, since her brother was hopeless in the kitchen – or maybe she did know and just didn't want to consider it – but for now it was her way out. She'd take a minute to regroup, and then she'd figure this out.

She leaned forward to collect the mugs. "I'll go make some more tea." Hopefully her break for the kitchen wasn't too obvious.

Behind her, she heard Tsukishima say, "I'll help." _Oh, damn,_ she thought as he excused himself to Byakuya.

Well, at least he was away from her brother. That had to be good, right? She could just confront him while they were in the other room and sort the whole thing out.

Rukia set the empty mugs down and leaned against the counter. She drew a deep breath, steeling herself. When she heard footsteps behind her, she turned to face the intruder. Better get this over with.

She watched him enter the room, stooping a little as he did. She swallowed. Tsukishima, she realized, was actually pretty tall. Rukia, she remembered, was kind of short.

Well. It didn't matter. Anyone who barged into her home like he belonged and did something to Byakuya would have to answer to her. She took a step forward.

"Who are you?" Rukia demanded. "And what have you done to my brother?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. "I'm Tsukishima. We've known each other for years."

"I don't know you. I don't know how you got in here or what you did to make my brother trust you. But it's not going to work." Rukia's heart was pounding. It felt like it was in her throat, and she thought it would choke her. If she was wrong, if this was some associate of Byakuya's that she had met once ages ago and forgotten, she was dead. It was unforgivable to speak to a guest like this.

Tsukishima cocked his head, and she was sure. That wasn't the expression of someone unjustly accused. "I haven't done anything," he said mildly. "Byakuya remembers me."

"I'm saying he shouldn't!" Rukia exclaimed. She closed her eyes and took a breath. It wouldn't do for Byakuya to hear her. "Who are you?" she asked more calmly. "I'm sure i've never seen you before, and yet you show up here like you've always belonged! What–"

"I _have_ always belonged. You just don't realize it yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rukia demanded. The man was speaking in riddles.

"I mean what i said," he told her. "That's all. I'm not trying to confuse you, Rukia. After all, you're Byakuya's little sister. It would be good if we got along."

"If you think i'd ever be your friend–" Rukia began heatedly.

"You shouldn't raise your voice like that," he said. "It wouldn't do for Byakuya to hear this, after all."

"Shit!" Rukia whirled, looking away from Tsukishima to peer back into the living room. Tsukishima took a sudden long step diagonally, moving behind her. Rukia barely noticed.

Then there was a sudden cold, shooting pain from her shoulder down to her chest. She looked down. The point of a sword stuck out of her chest, between her breasts. There was a line in her shoulder where it had cut down.

There was no blood. Shouldn't there be blood?

No. There couldn't be blood, because there couldn't be a sword here. Japan had very strict anti-weapon laws. Besides, where would a sword even have come from? She had quite clearly seen Tsukishima follow her into the kitchen with empty hands.

Tsukishima. Right.

She processed all this in less than an instant. When her mind reached Tsukishima, she twisted around – it felt horribly slow – to stare at him.

"You–" she choked out. "How–?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, still smiling faintly.

She remembered.

Tsukishima. Of course. How could she have forgotten?

"Tsukishima!" she exclaimed. "I'm an idiot. How've you been? You know, he'll never admit it, but my brother's really missed you."

His teeth showed as he smiled back at her.

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 **A/N:** So i came home the other day and my nephews i've never met were sitting on the couch. What makes it even weirder is that they're in the same general age range as me, so as far as i could tell it was just a couple of random strangers hanging out with my dad. (You may gather i don't much like interacting with strangers, even if they are related to me.) I had to channel my feelings somehow, and fanfic works pretty well for me. It turned out like this mainly because Tsukishima/Byakuya is my favorite _Bleach_ pairing right now.


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